1500–500 BC Indo-Aryan religious practices of northwest India
The spread of the Vedic culture in the lateVedic period.Aryavarta was limited to northwest India and the western Ganges plain, whileGreater Magadha in the east was occupied by non-Vedic Indo-Aryans.[1][2] The location ofshakhas is labeled in maroon.
Thehistorical Vedic religion, also calledVedicism orVedism, and sometimesancient Hinduism orVedic Hinduism,[a] constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of theIndo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontinent (Punjab and the westernGanges plain) during theVedic period (c. 1500–500 BCE).[3][4][5][6] These ideas and practices are found in theVedic texts, and some Vedic rituals are still practiced today.[7][8][9] The Vedic religion is one of the major traditions whichshaped modern Hinduism, though present-dayHinduism is significantly different from the historical Vedic religion.[5][10][a]
Specific rituals and sacrifices of the Vedic religion include, among others: theSoma rituals;fire rituals involving oblations (havir); and theAshvamedha (horse sacrifice).[15][16] The rites of grave burials as well ascremation are seen since the Rigvedic period.[17] Deities emphasized in the Vedic religion includeDyaus,Indra,Agni,Rudra andVaruna, and important ethical concepts includesatya andṛta.
Vedism refers to the oldest form of the Vedicreligion, when Indo-Aryans entered into the valley of theIndus River in multiple waves during the 2nd millennium BCE.Brahmanism refers to the further developed form of the late Vedic period which took shape at the Ganges basin aroundc. 1000 BCE.[18][d] According to Heesterman, "It is loosely known as Brahmanism because of the religious and legal importance it places on the brāhmaṇa (priestly) class of society."[18] During the late Vedic period, the Brahmanas and early Upanishads were composed.[19] Both Vedism and Brahmanism regard the Veda as sacred, but Brahmanism is more inclusive, incorporating doctrines and themes beyond the Vedas with practices like temple worship, puja, meditation, renunciation, vegetarianism, the role of the guru, and other non-Vedic elements important to Hindu religious life.[18]
The termsancient Hinduism andVedic Hinduism have also been used when referring to the ancient Vedic religion.[a]
According toHeinrich von Stietencron, in 19th century western publications, the Vedic religion was believed to be different from and unrelated to Hinduism. Instead, Hinduism was thought to be linked to theHindu epics and thePuranas through sects based onpurohita,tantras andBhakti.[20] In response to western colonialism and (Protestant) proselytizing,Hindu reform movements like theBrahmo Samaj and theNeo-Vedanta in the late 19th and early 20th century rejected the 'superstitions' of Puranic Hinduism, which in their view had deviated from the Vedic heritage, instead propagating a return to the Vedas and to restore an "imagined"[21] original, rational and monotheistic ancient Hinduism with an equal standing as Protestant Christianity.[20][22]
In the 20th century, the neo-Hindu emphasis on Vedic roots, and a better understanding of the Vedic religion and its shared heritage and theology with contemporary Hinduism, led scholars to view the historical Vedic religion as ancestral to modern Hinduism.[20] The historical Vedic religion is now generally accepted to be a predecessor of modernHinduism, but they are not the same because the textual evidence suggests significant differences between the two.[a] These include the belief in anafterlife instead of the later developedreincarnation andsamsāra concepts.[23][page needed] Nevertheless, while "it is usually taught that the beginnings of historical Hinduism date from around the beginning of the Common Era," when "the key tendencies, the crucial elements that would be encompassed in Hindu traditions, collectively came together,"[24] some scholars have come to view the term "Hinduism" as encompassing Vedism and Brahmanism, in addition to the recent synthesis.[25]
The Vedic religion refers to the religious beliefs of some VedicIndo-Aryan tribes, thearyas,[26][27][e] who migrated into the Indus River valley region of the Indian subcontinent after the collapse of theIndus Valley Civilisation.[3][b] The Vedic religion, and subsequent Brahmanism, center on the myths and ritual ideologies of the Vedas, as distinguished fromAgamic,Tantric and sectarian forms of Indian religion, which take recourse to the authority of non-Vedic textual sources.[3] The Vedic religion is described in theVedas and associated with voluminous Vedic literature, including the earlyUpanishads, preserved into the modern times by the different priestly schools.[3][29] The religion existed in the western Ganges plain in the early Vedic period fromc. 1500–1100 BCE,[30][f] and developed into Brahmanism in the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE).[14][33] The eastern Ganges plain was dominated by another Indo-Aryan complex, which rejected the later Brahmanical ideology and gave rise toJainism andBuddhism, and theMaurya Empire.[1][2]
The Vedic beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era were closely related to the hypothesizedProto-Indo-European religion,[54][h] and shows relations with rituals from theAndronovo culture, from which the Indo-Aryan people descended.[26] According to Anthony, the Old Indic religion probably emerged among Indo-European immigrants in the contact zone between theZeravshan River (present-dayUzbekistan) and (present-day) Iran.[55] It was "a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements"[55] which borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices"[12] from theBactria–Margiana culture (BMAC).[12] This syncretic influence is supported by at least383 non-Indo-European words that were borrowed from this culture, including the godIndra and the ritual drinkSoma.[56] According to Anthony,
Many of the qualities of Indo-Iranian god of might/victory,Verethraghna, were transferred to the adopted god Indra, who became the central deity of the developing Old Indic culture. Indra was the subject of 250 hymns, a quarter of theRig Veda. He was associated more than any other deity withSoma, a stimulant drug (perhaps derived fromEphedra) probably borrowed from theBMAC religion. His rise to prominence was a peculiar trait of the Old Indic speakers.[39]
The oldest inscriptions in Old Indic, the language of theRig Veda, are found in northern Syria, the location of theMitanni kingdom.[57] The Mitanni kings took Old Indic throne names, and Old Indic technical terms were used for horse-riding and chariot-driving.[57] The Old Indic termr'ta, meaning "cosmic order and truth", the central concept of theRig Veda, was also employed in the Mitanni kingdom.[57] Old Indic gods, includingIndra, were also known in the Mitanni kingdom.[58][59][60]
The Vedic religion was the product of "a composite of the Indo-Aryan and Harappan cultures and civilizations".[61] White (2003) cites three other scholars who "have emphatically demonstrated" that Vedic religion is partially derived from theIndus Valley civilization.[62]
It is unclear if the theory in diverse Vedic texts actually reflect the folk practices, iconography, and other practical aspects of the Vedic religion. The Vedic religion changed when Indo-Aryan people migrated into theGanges Plain afterc. 1100 BCE and became settled farmers,[14][63][64] further syncretizing with the native cultures of northern India.[2][page needed][3] The evidence suggests that the Vedic religion evolved in "two superficially contradictory directions", namely an ever more "elaborate, expensive, and specialized system of rituals",[65] which survives in the present-daysrauta-ritual,[66] and "abstraction and internalization of the principles underlying ritual and cosmic speculation" within oneself,[65][67] akin to the Jain and Buddhist tradition.
Aspects of the historical Vedic religion still continue in modern times. For instance, theNambudiri Brahmins continue the ancient Śrauta rituals, and the complex Vedic rituals ofŚrauta are practiced inKerala andcoastal Andhra.[68] TheKalash people residing in northwest Pakistan also continue to practice a form of the ancient Vedic religion.[66][i] It has also been suggested byMichael Witzel thatShinto, the native religion ofJapan, contains some influences from the ancient Vedic religion.[73][74]
Brahmanism, also called Brahminism or Brahmanical Hinduism, developed out of the Vedic religion, incorporating non-Vedic religious ideas, and expanding to aregion stretching from the northwest Indian subcontinent to the Ganges valley.[3][14] Brahmanism included the Vedic corpus, but also post-Vedic texts such as theDharmasutras andDharmasastras, which gave prominence to the priestly (Brahmin) caste of the society,[3] Heesterman also mentions the post-VedicSmriti (Puranas and the Epics),[3] which are also incorporated in the laterSmarta tradition. The emphasis on ritual and the dominant position of Brahmins developed as an ideology in theKuru-Pancala realm, and expanded over a wider area after the demise of the Kuru-Pancala kingdom[14] and its incorporation into the Magadha-based empires. It co-existed with local religions, such as theYaksha cults.[2][75][76]
The wordBrahmanism was coined by Gonçalo Fernandes Trancoso (1520–1596) in the 16th century.[77] Historically, and still by some modern authors, the word 'Brahmanism' was used in English to refer to theHindu religion, treating the term Brahmanism as synonymous withHinduism, and using it interchangeably.[78][79] Michael S. Allen criticises the use of "Brahminism" for the "greater Vedic tradition", arguing that it obscures the contribution of non-Brahmins to the tradition.[80] In the 18th and 19th centuries, Brahminism was the most common term used in English for Hinduism.Brahmanism gave importance to Absolute Reality (Brahman) speculations in the earlyUpanishads, as these terms are etymologically linked, which developed from post-Vedic ideas during the late Vedic era.[4][81][82][83] The concept of Brahman is posited as that which existed before the creation of the universe, which constitutes all of existence thereafter, and into which the universe will dissolve, followed by similar endless creation-maintenance-destruction cycles.[84][85][86][j]
The post-Vedic period of the Second Urbanisation saw a decline of Brahmanism.[87][88] With the growth of political entities, which threatened the income and patronage of the rural Brahmins including; theSramanic movement, the conquests of eastern empires fromMagadha including theNanda Empire and theMauryan Empire,[89][90] and also invasions and foreign rule of the northwestern Indian Subcontinent which brought in new political entities.[33] This was overcome by providing new services[91] and incorporating the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan religious heritage of the eastern Ganges plain and local religious traditions, giving rise to contemporaryHinduism.[33][web 1][2][1][14][3][a] This "new Brahmanism" appealed to rulers, who were attracted to the supernatural powers and the practical advice Brahmins could provide,[91] and resulted in a resurgence of Brahmanical influence, dominating Indian society since the classical Age of Hinduism in the early centuries CE.[33]
Nowadays, the term Brahmanism, used interchangeably withBrahminism, is used in several ways. It denotes the specific Brahmanical rituals and worldview as preserved in theŚrauta ritual, as distinct from the wide range of popular cultic activity with little connection with them. Brahminism also refers specifically to the Brahminical ideology, which sees Brahmins as naturally privileged people entitled to rule and dominate society.[92] The term is frequently used byanti-Brahmin opponents, who object against their domination of Indian society and their exclusivist ideology.[93] They follow the outline of 19th century colonial rulers, who viewed India's culture as corrupt and degenerate, and its population as irrational. In this view, derived from a Christian understanding of religion, the original "God-given religion" was corrupted by priests, in this case Brahmins, and their religion, "Brahminism", which was supposedly imposed on the Indian population.[94] Reformist Hindus, and others such asAmbedkar, structured their criticism along similar lines.[94]
Texts dating to the Vedic period, composed inVedic Sanskrit, are mainly the four VedicSamhitas, but theBrahmanas,Aranyakas, and some of the olderUpanishads[k] are also placed in this period. The Vedas record theliturgy connected with the rituals and sacrifices. These texts are also considered as a part of the scripture of contemporary Hinduism.[95]
Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation? The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe. Who then knows whence it has arisen? —Nasadiya Sukta,Rig Veda, 10:129-6[96][97][98]
The idea ofreincarnation, orsaṃsāra, is not mentioned in the early layers of the historic Vedic religion texts such as theRigveda.[99][100] The later layers of theRigveda do mention ideas that suggest an approach towards the idea of rebirth, according to Ranade.[101][102]
The early layers of the Vedas do not mention the doctrine ofKarma and rebirth, but mention the belief in anafterlife.[103][104] According to Sayers, these earliest layers of the Vedic literature show ancestor worship and rites such assraddha (offering food to the ancestors). The later Vedic texts such as theAranyakas and theUpanisads show a different soteriology based on reincarnation, they show little concern with ancestor rites, and they begin to philosophically interpret the earlier rituals.[105][106][107] The idea of reincarnation and karma have roots in theUpanishads of the lateVedic period, predating theBuddha and theMahavira.[108][23] Similarly, the later layers of the Vedic literature such as theBrihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 800 BCE) – such as in section 4.4 – discuss the earliest versions of the Karma doctrine as well as causality.[109][110]
The ancient Vedic religion lacked the belief in reincarnation and concepts such asSaṃsāra orNirvana. It was a complexanimistic religion withpolytheistic andpantheistic aspects.Ancestor worship was an important, maybe the central component, of the ancient Vedic religion. Elements of the ancestors cult are still common in modern Hinduism in the form ofŚrāddha.[23][page needed][111]
According to Olivelle, some scholars state that the renouncer tradition was an "organic and logical development of ideas found in the Vedic religious culture", while others state that these emerged from the "indigenous non-Aryan population". This scholarly debate is a longstanding one, and is ongoing.[112]
The rituals andcharms referred to in theAtharvaveda are concerned with medicine and healing practices[115]
The Gomedha or cow sacrifice:
The Taittiriya Brahmana of the Yajur Veda gives instructions for selecting the cow for the sacrifice depending on the deity.[116]
Panchasaradiya sava – celebration where 17 cows are immolated once every five years. The Taittiriya Brahmana advocates the Panchasaradiya for those who want to be great.[116]
Sulagava – sacrifice where roast beef is offered. It is mentioned in the Grihya Sutra[116]
According to Dr. R. Mitra, the offered animal was intended for consumption as detailed in the Asvalayana Sutra. The Gopatha Brahmana lists the different individuals who are to receive the various parts like Pratiharta (neck and hump), the Udgatr, the Neshta, the Sadasya, the householder who performs the sacrifice (the two right feet), his wife (the two left feet) and so on.[116]
The Hindu rites ofcremation are seen since the Rigvedic period; while they are attested from early times in theCemetery H culture, there is a late Rigvedic reference invoking forefathers "both cremated (agnidagdhá-) and uncremated (ánagnidagdha-)". (RV 10.15.14)
Though a large number of names fordevas occur in the Rigveda, only 33 devas are counted, eleven each of earth, space, and heaven.[117] The Vedic pantheon knows two classes, Devas andAsuras. The Devas (Mitra,Varuna,Aryaman,Bhaga, Amsa, etc.) are deities of cosmic and social order, from the universe and kingdoms down to the individual. TheRigveda is a collection of hymns to various deities, most notably heroicIndra,Agni the sacrificial fire and messenger of the gods, andSoma, the deified sacred drink of the Indo-Iranians.[118] Also prominent isVaruna (often paired with Mitra) and the group of "All-gods", theVishvadevas.[119]
Ethics in the Vedas are based on concepts likesatya andṛta.[130]
In theVedas and latersutras, the meaning of the word satya (सत्य) evolves into an ethical concept about truthfulness and is considered an important virtue.[131][132] It means being true and consistent with reality in one's thought, speech and action.[131]
Vedicṛtá and itsAvestan equivalentaša are both thought by some to derive fromProto-Indo-Iranian*Hr̥tás "truth",[133] which in turn may continue from a possibleProto-Indo-European*h2r-tós "properly joined, right, true", from a presumed root*h2er-. The derivative nounṛta is defined as "fixed or settled order, rule, divine law or truth".[134] As Mahony (1998) notes, however, the term can be translated as "that which has moved in a fitting manner" – although this meaning is not actually cited by authoritative Sanskrit dictionaries it is a regular derivation from the verbal root -, and abstractly as "universal law" or "cosmic order", or simply as "truth".[135] The latter meaning dominates in theAvestan cognate toṚta,aša.[136]
Owing to the nature ofVedic Sanskrit, the termṚta can be used to indicate numerous things, either directly or indirectly, and both Indian and European scholars have experienced difficulty in arriving at fitting interpretations forṚta in all of its various usages in theVedas, though the underlying sense of "ordered action" remains universally evident.[137]
The central myth at the base of Vedic ritual surroundsIndra who, inebriated bySoma, slays the dragon (ahi)Vritra, freeing therivers, the cows, andDawn.
Vedic mythology contains numerous elements which are common to Indo-European mythological traditions, like the mythologies ofPersia,Greece, andRome, and those of the Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, and Slavic peoples. The Vedic godIndra in part corresponds toDyaus Pitar, the Sky Father,Zeus,Jupiter,Thor andTyr, orPerun. The deityYama, the lord of the dead, is hypothesized to be related toYima ofPersian mythology. Vedic hymns refer to these and other deities, often 33, consisting of 8 Vasus, 11 Rudras, 12 Adityas, and in the late Rigvedas,Prajapati. These deities belong to the 3 regions of the universe or heavens, the earth, and the intermediate space.
The hymn 10.85 of theRigveda includes the Vivaha-sukta (above). Its recitation continues to be a part of Hindu wedding rituals.[141][142]
The Vedic period is held to have ended around 500 BCE. The period between 800 BCE and 200 BCE is the formative period for laterHinduism,Jainism andBuddhism.[143][144] According to Michaels, the period between 500 BCE and 200 BCE is a time of "ascetic reformism",[145] while the period between 200 BCE and 1100 CE is the time of "classical Hinduism", since there is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions".[10] Muesse discerns a longer period of change, namely between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, which he calls the "Classical Period", when "traditional religious practices and beliefs were reassessed. The Brahmins and the rituals they performed no longer enjoyed the same prestige they had in the Vedic period".[146]
Brahmanism evolved into Hinduism, which is significantly different from the preceding Brahmanism,[a] though "it is also convenient to have a single term for the whole complex of interrelated traditions."[5] The transition from ancient Brahmanism to schools of Hinduism was a form of evolution in interaction with non-Vedic traditions. This transition preserved many central ideas and theosophy found in the Vedas while synergistically integrating non-Vedic ideas.[1][2][14][147][l] While part of Hinduism,Vedanta,Samkhya andYoga schools of Hinduism share their concern with escape from the suffering of existence with Buddhism.[156]
According toAxel Michaels, the Vedic gods declined but did not disappear, and local cults were assimilated into the Vedic-Brahmanic pantheon, which changed into the Hindu pantheon. Deities such asShiva andVishnu became more prominent and gave rise toShaivism andVaishnavism.[157]
According to David Knipe, some communities in India have preserved and continue to practice portions of the historical Vedic religion, as observed inKerala andAndhra Pradesh states and elsewhere.[7] According to the historian andSanskrit linguistMichael Witzel, some of the rituals of theKalash people have elements of the historical Vedic religion, but there are also some differences such as the presence of fire next to the altar instead of "in the altar" as in the Vedic religion.[8][9]
Mīmāṃsā philosophers argue that there was no need to postulate a maker for the world, just as there was no need for an author to compose the Vedas or a god to validate the rituals.[158] Mīmāṃsā argues that the gods named in the Vedas have no existence apart from themantras that speak their names. To that regard, the power of the mantras is what is seen as the power of gods.[159]
Of the continuation of the Vedic tradition in the Upanishads, Fowler writes the following:
Despite the radically different nature of the Upanishads in relation to theVedas it has to be remembered that the material of both form theVeda or "knowledge" which issruti literature. So theUpanishads develop the ideas of theVedas beyond their ritual formalism and should not be seen as isolated from them. The fact that the Vedas that are more particularly emphasized in the Vedanta: the efficacy of the Vedic ritual is not rejected, it is just that there is a search for the Reality that informs it.[160]
TheUpanishads gradually evolved intoVedanta, which is one of the primary schools of thought withinHinduism.Vedanta considers itself "the purpose or goal [end] of the Vedas".[161]
The non-Vedic śramaṇa traditions existed alongside Brahmanism.[162][163][m][164][165] These were not direct outgrowths of Vedism, but movements with mutual influences with Brahmanical traditions,[162] reflecting "the cosmology and anthropology of a much older, pre-Aryan upper class of northeastern India".[166] Jainism and Buddhism evolved out of the Shramana tradition.[167]
There are Jaina references to 22 prehistorictirthankaras. In this view, Jainism peaked at the time ofMahavira (traditionally put in the 6th century BCE).[168][169]Buddhism, traditionally put from c. 500 BCE,declined in India over the 5th to 12th centuries in favor of Puranic Hinduism[170] and Islam.[171][172]
^abcdefgScholars such as Jan Gonda have used the termancient Hinduism, distinguishing it from "recent Hinduism". Jamison & Witzel (1992, p. 3) use the term "Vedic Hinduism," but state:"... to call this period Vedic Hinduism is acontradictio in terminis since Vedic religion is very different from what we generally call Hindu religion – at least as much as Old Hebrew religion is from medieval and modern Christian religion. However, Vedic religion is treatable as a predecessor of Hinduism". Michaels (2004, p. 38) also emphasizes the differences: "The legacy of the Vedic religion in Hinduism is generally overestimated. The influence of the mythology is indeed great, but the religious terminology changed considerably: all the key terms of Hinduism either do not exist in Vedic or have a completely different meaning. The religion of the Veda does not know the ethicised migration of the soul with retribution for acts (karma), the cyclical destruction of the world, or the idea of salvation during one's lifetime (jivanmukti; moksa; nirvana); the idea of the world as illusion (maya) must have gone against the grain of ancient India, and an omnipotent creator god emerges only in the late hymns of the rgveda. Nor did the Vedic religion know a caste system, the burning of widows, the ban on remarriage, images of gods and temples, Puja worship, Yoga, pilgrimages, vegetarianism, the holiness of cows, the doctrine of stages of life (asrama), or knew them only at their inception. Thus, it is justified to see a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions." See alsoHalbfass (1991, pp. 1–2) TheEncyclopædia Britannica explains that from the Vedic religion emergedBrahmanism, a religious tradition of ancient India. It states, "Brahmanism emphasized the rites performed by, and the status of, the Brahman, or priestly, class as well as speculation about Brahman (the Absolute reality) as theorized in the Upanishads (speculative philosophical texts that are considered to be part of the Vedas, or scriptures)." From Brahmanism developed Hinduism, when it was synthesized, around the start of the Common Era, with the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan religious heritage of the eastern Ganges plain and with local religious traditions; seeWitzel 1995;Hiltebeitel 2002;Samuel 2010;Welbon 2004;Bronkhorst 2007.
^abcThe Indo-Aryans were pastoralists[14] who migrated into north-western India after the collapse of theIndus Valley civilization,[28][34][35] bringing with them their language[36] and religion.[37][38] They were closely related to the Indo-Aryans who foundedMitanni kingdom in northern Syria[39] (c.1500–1300 BCE). Both groups were rooted in theAndronovo-culture[40] in theBactria–Margiana era, in present northern Afghanistan,[39] and related to theIndo-Iranians, from which they split off around 1800–1600 BCE.[41] Their roots go back further to theSintashta culture, with funeral sacrifices which show close parallels to the sacrificial funeral rites of theRig Veda.[42] The immigrations consisted probably of small groups of people.[11]Kenoyer (1998) notes that "there is no archaeological or biological evidence for invasions or mass migrations into the Indus Valley between the end of the Harappan phase, about 1900 B.C. and the beginning of the Early Historic period around 600 B.C."[43] For an overview of the current relevant research, see the following references.[44][45][46][11]
Beckwith (2011, p. 32): "Although the Indo-Europeans settled in new lands, in some cases (such as Greece) evidently by conquest, they did not always dominate the local people in the beginning. Instead, they often served the local peoples as mercenary warriors, or came under their domination in general. In either case, the Indo-European migrants–who were mostly men–married local women and, by mixing with them, developed their distinctive creole dialect features. The most influential of the new dialects was Proto-Indo-Iranian, the speakers of which appear to have been influenced linguistically by a non-Indo-European people from whom the Indo-Iranians borrowed their distinctive religious beliefs and practices. The locus of this convergence is increasingly thought to have been the area of the advanced, non-Indo-European-speaking Bactria–Margiana Culture's centered in what is now northwestern Afghanistan and southern Turkmenistan. The other Indo-Europeans developed different dialects and beliefs under the influence of other non-Indo-European languages and cultures."
Anthony (2007, pp. 454–455) states that at least 383 non-Indo-European words were borrowed from this culture, including the godIndra and the ritual drinkSoma, which was "probably borrowed from the BMAC religion."
Anthony (2007, p. 454): "Many of the qualities of Indo-Iranian god of might/victory,Verethraghna, were transferred to the adopted god Indra, who became the central deity of the developing Old Indic culture. Indra was the subject of 250 hymns, a quarter of theRigveda. He was associated more than any other deity withSoma, a stimulant drug (perhaps derived fromEphedra) probably borrowed from the BMAC religion. His rise to prominence was a peculiar trait of the Old Indic speakers."
^SeeWitzel 1995 for an elaborate description of the religious and socio-political development of the late Vedic society
^Michaels: "They called themselvesarya ('Aryans', literally 'the hospitable', from the Vedicarya, 'homey, the hospitable') but even in the Rgveda,arya denotes a cultural and linguistic boundary and not only a racial one."[28]
^There is no exact dating possible for the beginning of the Vedic period. Witzel mentions a range between 1900 and 1400 BCE.[31] Flood (1996) mentions 1500 BCE.[32]
^Some writers and archaeologists have opposed the notion of a migration of Indo-Aryans into India,[47][48][28][49] due to a lack of archaeological evidence and signs of cultural continuity,[28] hypothesizing instead a slow process of acculturation[28] or transformation.[34] According to Upinder Singh, "The original homeland of the Indo-Europeans and Indo-Aryans is the subject of continuing debate among philologists, linguists, historians, archaeologists, and others. The dominant view is that the Indo-Aryams came to the subcontinent as immigrants. Another view, advocated mainly by some Indian scholars, is that they were indigenous to the subcontinent."[49] Edwin Bryant used the term "Indo-Aryan controversy" for an oversight of the Indo-Aryan migration theory, and some of its opponents.[50] Mallory and Adams note that two types of models "enjoy significant international currency", namely theAnatolian hypothesis, and a migration out of the Eurasian steppes.[51] Linguistic and archaeological data clearly show a cultural change after 1750 BCE,[28] with the linguistic and religious data clearly showing links with Indo-European languages and religion.[52] According to Singh, "The dominant view is that the Indo-Aryans came to the subcontinent as immigrants."[49] An overview of the "Indigenist position" can be obtained from Bryant & Patton (2005).[50] See also the articleIndigenous Aryans
^See Kuzʹmina (2007),The Origin of the Indo-Iranians, p. 339, for an overview of publications up to 1997 on this subject.
^Up to the late 19th century, theNuristanis of Afghanistan observed a primitive form of Hinduism until they wereforcibly converted to Islam under the rule ofAbdur Rahman Khan.[69][70][71] However, aspects of the historical Vedic religion survived in other corners of the Indian subcontinent, such asKerala, where theNambudiri Brahmins continue the ancient Śrauta rituals. TheKalash people residing in northwest Pakistan also continue to practice a form of the ancient Vedic religion.[66][72]
^abWitzel, Michael (2004). "Kalash Religion (extract from 'The Ṛgvedic Religious System and its Central Asian and Hindukush Antecedents". In Griffiths, A.; Houben, J.E.M. (eds.).The Vedas: Texts, language, and ritual. Groningen: Forsten. pp. 581–636.
^Ratnagar, Shereen (2008). "The Aryan homeland debate in India". In Kohl, P. L.; Kozelsky, M.; Ben-Yehuda, N. (eds.).Selective Remembrances: Archaeology in the construction, commemoration, and consecration of national pasts. pp. 349–378.
^Bhan, Suraj (2002). "Aryanization of the Indus Civilization". In Panikkar, K. N.; Byres, T. J.; Patnaik, U. (eds.).The Making of History. pp. 41–55.
^abcWest, Barbara A. (19 May 2010).Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania.Infobase Publishing. p. 357.ISBN9781438119137.The Kalasha are a unique people living in just three valleys near Chitral, Pakistan, the capital of North-West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan. Unlike their neighbors in the Hindu Kush Mountains on both the Afghani and Pakistani sides of the border the Kalasha have not converted to Islam. During the mid-20th century a few Kalasha villages in Pakistan were forcibly converted to this dominant religion, but the people fought the conversion and once official pressure was removed the vast majority continued to practice their own religion. Their religion is a form of Hinduism that recognizes many gods and spirits ... given their Indo-Aryan language, ... the religion of the Kalasha is much more closely aligned to the Hinduism of their Indian neighbors that to the religion of Alexander the Great and his armies.
^Minahan, James B. (2014).Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 205.ISBN9781610690188.Living in the high mountain valleys, the Nuristani retained their ancient culture and their religion, a form of the ancient Vedic religion with many customs and rituals developed locally. Certain deities were revered only by one tribe or community, but one deity was universally worshipped by all Nuristani as the Creator, the Hindu god Yama Raja, calledimr'o orimra by the Nuristani tribes.
^Barrington, Nicholas; Kendrick, Joseph T.; Schlagintweit, Reinhard (18 April 2006).A Passage to Nuristan: Exploring the mysterious Afghan hinterland.I.B. Tauris. p. 111.ISBN9781845111755.Prominent sites include Hadda, near Jalalabad, but Buddhism never seems to have penetrated the remote valleys of Nuristan, where the people continued to practice an early form of polytheistic Hinduism.
^Weiss, Mitch; Maurer, Kevin (31 December 2012).No Way Out: A story of valor in the mountains of Afghanistan. Berkley Caliber. p. 299.ISBN9780425253403.Up until the late nineteenth century, many Nuristanis practiced a primitive form of Hinduism. It was the last area in Afghanistan to convert to Islam—and the conversion was accomplished by the sword.
^Allen 2022, p. 208: "This greater Vedic tradition is sometimes referred to as "Brahminism," but that label is less than ideal. First, as McGovern (2019) has pointed out in a recent book, the term "Brahmin" was originally not exclusive to followers of the Vedas, but was also used by Buddhists, Jains, and others. Second, although (Vedic) Brahmins were jealous of their teaching authority, they regarded the Vedas as the ultimate source of that authority, and referring to their tradition as "Brahminism" rather than "Vedism" would be subject to the same objections that have led scholars of Tibetan Buddhism to abandon the term "Lamaism." Third, and perhaps most importantly, the term obscures the participation of non-Brahmins in the greater Vedic tradition."
^Maritain, Jacques (2005).An Introduction to Philosophy. Rowman & Littlefield. pages 6–7 footnote 1.ISBN978-0-7425-5053-7.This [the primitive religion of the Vedas] resulted, after a period of confusion, in the formation of a new system, Brahmanism (or Hinduism), which is essentially a philosophy, a metaphysic, a work of human speculation, ...; [footnote 1]... the neuter,Brahman, as the one impersonal substance.
^Leaman, Oliver (2002).Eastern Philosophy: Key Readings. Routledge. pp. 64–65.ISBN978-1-134-68918-7.The early Upanishads are primarily metaphysical treatises concerned with identifying the Brahman, the ground of the universe. ... The essence of early Brahmanism is the search for the Absolute and its natural development is in Vedantin monism which claims that the soul is identical with the Absolute.
^Ranade, R. D. (1926).A Constructive Survey of Upanishadic Philosophy. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. pp. 147–148.... in certain other places [of Rigveda], an approach is being made to the idea of Transmigration. ... There we definitely know that the whole hymn is address to a departed spirit, and the poet [of the Rigvedic hymn] says that he is going to recall the departed soul in order that it may return again and live.
^Sayers, Matthew R. (2015). "The Śrāddha: The Development of Ancestor Worship in Classical Hinduism".Religion Compass.9 (6):182–197.doi:10.1111/rec3.12155.ISSN1749-8171.
^Singhal, K. C.; Gupta, Roshan (2003). "Vedic period: A new interpretation".The Ancient History of India. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. p. 150.ISBN8126902868.
^Day, Terence P. (1982).The Conception of Punishment in Early Indian Literature. Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 42–45.ISBN0-919812-15-5.
^Singh, N. (1992). "The vivaha (marriage) Samskara as a paradigm for religio-cultural integration in Hinduism".Journal for the Study of Religion.5 (1):31–40.JSTOR24764135.
^Fowler, Jeaneane D.Perspectives of Reality: An introduction to the philosophy of Hinduism. p. 46.
^Hume, Robert E. (1966).The American College Dictionary.Random House.[Vedānta] is concerned with the end of the Vedas, both chronologically and teleologically.
^abcCrawford, S. Cromwell (1972). "review of L. M. Joshi,Brahmanism, Buddhism and Hinduism".Philosophy East and West.
^Kalghatgi, Dr. T.G. (1988).Study of Jainism. Jaipur: Prakrit Bharti Academy.
^Masih, Y. (2000).A Comparative Study of Religions. Delhi, IN: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 18.ISBN81-208-0815-0.There is no evidence to show that Jainism and Buddhism ever subscribed to Vedic sacrifices, Vedic deities or caste. They are parallel or native religions of India and have contributed ... much to the growth of even classical Hinduism of the present times.
^Jaini, P.S. (1979).The Jaina Path to Purification. Delhi, IN: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 169.Jainas themselves have no memory of a time when they fell within the Vedic fold. Any theory that attempts to link the two traditions, moreover fails to appreciate rather distinctive and very non-Vedic character of Jaina cosmology, soul theory, karmic doctrine and atheism.
^Svarghese, Alexander P. (2008).India : History, religion, vision and contribution to the world. pp. 259–260.
^Helmuth von Glasenapp, Shridhar B. Shrotri. 1999. Jainism: an Indian religion of salvation. P.24. "Thus not only nothing, from the philosophical and the historical point of view, comes in the way of the supposition that Jainism was established by Parsva around 800 BCE, but it is rather confirmed in everything that we know of the spiritual life of that period."
^Dundas, Paul (2002).The Jains. p. 17.Jainism, then, was in origin merely one component of a north Indian ascetic culture that flourished in the Ganges basin from around the eighth or seventh centuries BCE.
^"Buddhism".Encyclopædia Britannica (Online Library ed.). 2009.
^Ruhe, Brian.Freeing the Buddha: Diversity on a sacred path – large scale concerns. pp. 78–83.
^Sarao, K.T.S.A text book of the history of Theravāda Buddhism. Dept. of Buddhist Studies. University of Delhi. p. 110.
Allen, Michael S. (2022).The Ocean of Inquiry: Niscaldas and the Premodern Origins of Modern Hinduism. Oxford University Press.ISBN9780197638989.
Anthony, David W. (2007).The Horse, the Wheel, and Language. How Bronze-Age riders from the Eurasian steppes shaped the modern world. Princeton University Press.
Beckwith, Christopher I. (2011).Empires of the Silk Road. A history of central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the present. Princeton University Press.
Bronkhorst, Johannes (2007).Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India. BRILL.ISBN9789004157194.
Bronkhorst, Johannes (2015). "The historiography of Brahmanism". In Otto; Rau; Rupke (eds.).History and Religion:Narrating a Religious Past. Walter deGruyter.
Bryant, Edwin (2001).The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan migration debate. Oxford University Press.
Bryant, Edwin F.; Patton, Laurie L., eds. (2005).The Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and inference in Indian history. London: Routledge.ISBN0-7007-1463-4.
Duchesne-Guillemin, Jacques (Summer 1963). "Heraclitus and Iran".History of Religions.3 (1):34–49.doi:10.1086/462470.S2CID62860085.
Heesterman, Jan (2005)."Vedism and Brahmanism". In Jones, Lindsay (ed.).The Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 14 (2nd ed.). Macmillan Reference. pp. 9552–9553.ISBN0-02-865733-0.
Jamison, Stephanie; Witzel, Michael (1992)."Vedic Hinduism"(PDF). Harvard University. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 5 October 2003. Retrieved4 August 2018.
Knipe, David M. (2015).Vedic Voices: Intimate narratives of a living Andhra tradition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
^ab"Vedic religion".Encyclopedia Britannica. 21 September 2024.It [Vedic religion] takes its name from the collections of sacred texts known as the Vedas. Vedism is the oldest stratum of religious activity in India for which there exist written materials. It was one of the major traditions that shaped Hinduism.
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